Focused on the future, Rock Hill youth football coaches convene ahead of 2022 season
Jimmy Wallace stands in front of a white board filled with blue dry erase scribbles. A pair of eyeglasses hang on the tip of his nose.
“Throw to target” is underlined. “Brett Favre,” “Russell Wilson,” “Aaron Rodgers” and “Reps Reps Reps” take up a considerable amount of space on the right side of the board. Other innocuous quips — like “direct snap” and “10 second jump rope” — provide symmetry in the smudge.
Wallace, who won three state championships at Northwestern High School and who coached a handful of the players who’ve delivered Rock Hill its Football City USA nickname, is giving a 20-minute tutorial to the men who’ll be coaches in the upcoming Rock Hill youth football season. Specifically, he’s talking about coaching quarterbacks. I imagine he’s speaking with the same enthusiasm he did when he was a high school football head coach over a decade ago — using ample audience participation, passion, self-deprecation and coach-speak humor.
“You see this?” he asks, pointing at some words on the board. It reads “5 yard throw.” He then points to someone he’s known for years and asks, “What’s five plus five?”
The coach answers: “A first down.”
“That’s right.”
This was a snapshot of one of three 20-minute breakout sessions from this year’s Rock Hill Youth Football Coaches Clinic, which took place at Manchester Meadows on Thursday evening. The annual event is organized by the city and marks the beginning of youth football season’s registration process. It’s meant to give tips to local youth football coaches and to help foster community among them.
Former head coach at Coastal Carolina David Bennett gave an opening address on Thursday. Current Northwestern head coach Page Wofford spoke in a breakout session. So did David Harrison, who runs his own offensive line development program in the area, and so did longtime youth football coach (and city councilman) Perry Sutton and others.
The clinic was largely focused on the future of football in Rock Hill.
“We want to help,” Wallace told The Herald. “We want to help coaches, help players. … These coaches are volunteer coaches. They volunteer their time to come, and I think it’s our responsibility to help them as much as we can. To teach blocking, tackling, fundamental football so the kids can go out there and execute and have fun.”
Youth football is part of Rock Hill’s identity. When the three All-Star football teams won state championships in December, the city of Rock Hill honored all the 8-year-olds and 10-year-olds and 12-year-olds who won those trophies.
Football teaches teamwork and discipline like nothing else does, and that’s why it’s important, Wallace said.
“Let me tell you something about football,” Wallace said. “I coached football for 46 years and never cut a player off a team. We need more football. We need more football. The game’s better and safer now than it’s ever been because of the technical stuff we’re teaching: block with your hands, block with your shoulders, tackle with your shoulders.”
He added: “In my opinion, our children need to be involved on a team, where they can put their own personal stuff aside and play for the team.”
Sign up for Rock Hill youth football
Registration for ages 5-6 (flag football), 7-8 (Small Fry) and 9-10 (Pee Wee) is open through Aug. 26. Register at cityofrockhill.com.
This story was originally published July 22, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
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